2003 Mustang Cobra - Sonic View - 649HP Terminator

Randy Fuller's Screen-Saver Lust Turned Into Street Car Reality

Michael JohnsonAssociate Editor

December 7, 2009

Back in the day before computers came along, we fell in love with cars from seeing them on the road, at dealerships, or at the dragstrip. We had to go outside to see our favorite cars in action. Today we have it easy by comparison. All we have to do is punch up any number of websites to lust after our dream cars. If we do see a car out in the wild, we can take a picture of it with our cell phone for cryin' out loud. Our dads and grandfathers had to wait to receive a magazine in the mail before knowing about a certain car, but now you can see new cars before the ink on these pages is even dry. We've come a long way, people.

Just 26 years old as of this writing, Randy Fuller is smack dab in the middle of Generation Next, having grown up in the computer age. Speaking of which, a computer is what lead him to the Cobra seen here.

Computers and fast cars are not new to Randy. Just in his early 20s, he's already owned a built New Edge GT and another high-performance car more suited for his dad. Owning such vehicles, Randy came up with many an excuse to get them out on the open road. Living in Charlotte, North Carolina, Randy would leave Friday afternoon for weekend visits with little brother Kyle in Warner Robins, Georgia. During this time, he contemplated selling the Brand-X car, but he wanted to replace it with an '03-'04 Cobra.

One particular trip to the Peach State opened his eyes. Randy was at his cousin Alan Happel's house, and mutual friend Steve Marks' had his laptop out. As is the case with everyone, Steve's laptop had a non-stock background image. On his way to answer the call of nature, the background image stopped Randy in his tracks. "I couldn't help but drool," Randy says. The desktop background was of the coolest-looking Sonic Blue '03 Cobra Randy had seen. While Randy was telling Steve how cool the car was, Steve stopped him to note that the car was located just 45 minutes from them, but more importantly, it was for sale.

Coincidentally, Randy had heard about the Cobra from several of his friends and family. They confirmed it was the same car:: Sonic Blue, polished Whipple, 649 ponies at the feet, yada, yada, yada. Yep, it was the one. "I knew I had to get in touch with the owner of this car ASAP," Randy says.

We have all run into this predicament. We see a Mustang we want, but we can't pull the trigger without moving a current car. Not wanting to lose out on the opportunity at hand, we beat our heads on the dash to figure out how to seal the deal. Randy couldn't do anything about it that weekend, but a plan was put into motion.

Alan tracked down the owner, and Randy's brother Kyle filled Randy in on the car's specific details. "The information left no doubts that I had to try and buy it," Randy says. Jay Hawthorne was the Cobra's owner at that time, and he and Randy spoke on several occasions before coming to an agreement on price. "(I was) one step closer to my dream car," Randy says.

However, he had to make a tough decision. One of his prized possessions had to go. Either his GT, which Randy had built and invested a ton of money in, or his daily driver, one of his favorite cars. The only logical thing to do was to put both cars up for sale, and whichever car sold first, the proceeds would be used to get the Sonic Blue Cobra in Randy's garage.

Naturally, the Mustang was the car getting all the hits, and he even drove it to an NMRA race at Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, Georgia, with a "For Sale" sign on it. Within two weeks, the GT had a new owner, and four hours after selling it, Randy was on his way to get the Cobra.

"With cash and check in hand, Jay turned over both sets of keys and the title to my new Sonic Blue Cobra," Randy says.